Paper Walls
by LivvyWriter
Summary: After the worst thing possible happens to Alicia, she throws herself into the war looking for revenge. Her friends are by her side, even George Weasley who Alicia still hasn't forgiven for not contacting her after he left her in his moment of glory.
1. Chapter 1

**Paper Walls**

Disclaimer- The obvious stuff isn't mine, and all the unfamiliar stuff is.

Summary-After George leaves Hogwarts with his brother in their moment of glory, Alicia doesn't hear from him for several months. The war is beginning to rage, bringing all of her friends into madness, but when something unbelievably tragic happens to Alicia, it shatters her world. She embarks upon a mission for revenge, bringing those she loves dearest to her side to embark with her. When someone she didn't expect to see again, returns wanting to help, it sends Alicia onto the scariest ride of her life.

Author Note- I'm not sure how this story will do..but if it does well I've already got a few chapters written up and I'll keep going.

* * *

"You're a complete mess." I whispered to the sad reflection in the mirror. The girl staring back at me had a nest of brown hair that looked like it hadn't been brushed in centuries and eyes fit for a Visine commercial.

"You could at least shave your legs." My reflection said. I sighed and threw my hands in the air.

"My own reflection isn't even on my side..." The other Alicia rolled her eyes and I returned the gesture. I turned back around and my eyes took in the disastrous room.

My queen sized bed that had once been covered in huge pillows and ragged stuffed animals was now bare, the covers beside the bed, thrown down in a nightmare. The shades were pulled down over my two large bay windows, making the warm yellow of the room appear to be a dark gold. My books were a towering pile in the corner, covered by dust.

Tugging slightly at the hem of my worn out nightgown, I frowned when a string popped loose and unraveled to my knee.

"I knew it would come undone at some point. You _have_ been wearing that gown every night for five years, after all." I turned around and saw my mom leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed; a smile across her face. I squinted from the light that the now opened door let in and put a hand above my eyes as a shield.

"Mommm..please shut the door!" I said; a whining hint to my voice. She laughed loudly and the sound filled my room.

"There's that beautiful Karen Spinnet laugh that I'm so fond of!" My dad appeared behind my mom and kissed the top of her head. (We Spinnet women seem to lack in height.)

"Hi dad." I said, smiling at the sight of my always chipper father.

"Mornin' Al. What are your plans for this glorious Saturday morning?"

The tone of my dad's voice sounded like a newscaster and it caused me to laugh.

"One thing I've always been happy about with you Al, is that you inherited my dashing good looks.." He flexed and went to kiss his muscles. ".. and your mom's rowdy laugh."

"Oh William stop that, you're _so_ goofy." My mom swatted his chest and I rolled my eyes.

"Would you two please flirt elsewhere, I was busy-" My mom interrupted.

"You were busy sulking about that George Woosel as we all know." She exchanged looks with my dad.

I opened my mouth to protest but was once again interrupted, this time by my dad.

"He seemed like a nice boy when you brought him by for the Christmas before last, but he isn't worth shutting yourself up in your room for this long."

"I am not shutting myself up in my room because of that sorry boy! I don't care that he flew off with Fred in the middle of our N.E.W.T exams or that he forgot to say goodbye to me or contact me for what has now been two months. It's not like we were _DATING FOR SIX MONTHS OR ANYTHING.."_ I starting to get heated up and my mom came over to me and put her hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay to be upset dear, but you know that he told you before he left, that after Hogwarts he wouldn't be able to contact you for awhile due to the position that the Order was putting him in." She moved her hand to my back and began to rub it.

"I know, but when he told me that, I thought I would have till graduation with him, and then the next thing I know he's flying out of Hogwarts, setting off fireworks at Professor Umbridge." Those last few words helped a chuckle escape from me.

"Well don't worry sweetheart, it's going to get better, you just wait." My dad said, coming over to sit on the other side of me.

"I know, I know." My mom continued to rub my back for a few minutes and then my dad glanced at his watch.

"Okay Al, go get ready, I bet you forgot that we were picking your brother up at the train station today." I slapped my forehead, I had forgotten! I suddenly got a rush of excitement at the thought of my brother finally coming home.

"Okay, thanks. I'll be down in a half hour."

"Better make it twenty minutes; you slept until midday again. I swear, it's like you're nocturnal sometimes.." My dad said, walking out.

"Give me a break! I've only been out of school for hardly a month..what do you expect.." I watched suspiciously as my mom went to the windows and opened the blinds. The sunlight poured in and made me gasp.

"Mother of God, mom!" I said, staggering backwards. I was temporarily blinded for a few more minutes, and I could hear my mother's distinctive laugh as they left the room.

"You better hurry up! It should take you days to make you presentable.." My reflection said.

"You're so obnoxious!" I said as I threw my duvet cover on top of it. I heard protests but I just laughed.

Rummaging through my clothes, I found my favorite pair of worn out jeans and slipped them on. I grabbed a brown tank top, found my oldest pair of flip flops, and put on the only pair of earrings I had, a pair of diamond studs that Katie, Angelina, Fred, and Lee had all chipped in and bought me for my seventeenth birthday. George had bought me a locket that I had refused to take off so far, even though it made me sad every time I opened it and saw the picture of us on the broom he had received for his own seventeenth birthday.

I knew how my hair looked before I even looked in the mirror. The curls were bushy and frizzy, and I knew that only something magical would calm them. I picked up my wand and muttered a very well known spell. Tugging the duvet cover off the mirror, I was satisfied to see that the frizzy curls were now tamer curls, although not losing all of it's frizziness, that came down to just below my shoulders.

"That'll do.."

I pocketed my wand but then took it out when I remembered that we were going to King's Cross, but the muggle part of it.

I was almost out my door before I went back and grabbed my wand, slipped it into a purse, and walked back out.

No one could be too careful these days.

* * *

"Alicia! Follow me! Stop wandering off! The last thing I need is for you to get lost in a train station.." My mom said hurriedly, trying to keep up with the long strides of my father.

I rolled my eyes and replied, " Mom, I'm seventeen years old! Graduate of Hogwarts!" I got swatted by my mom when I mentioned the name, but I continued. "Prefect of the Gryffindor House ! Soon to be Auror of the Dark Arts!" My mom swatted me harder this time.

"Alicia Stephanie Spinnet! You know better then to mention those things in the open!" My mom said in a rushed whisper. I laughed and I heard my dad laugh up front. He knew better than my mom that nobody was listening to the three insignificant people weaving through the crowded train station.

I saw my dad stop ahead before my mom did, and I laughed loudly when she ran into his back because of her head being turned around, talking to me. She couldn't hide the embarrassed smile and it made me laugh even harder.

"I could have heard that laugh from Italy! I swear it's a good thing that I inherited ma's good looks and dad's tame laugh." I turned around at the familiar voice and squealed.

"WILL!" Before I even had time to fling myself at my older brother, he had come at me and hugged me so hard that my feet lifted off the ground.

"Hey Al, missed your big bro, aye?" He gave me a tight squeeze and I buried my head into the side of his neck.

"Okay you two! 'Licia you gotta let the rest of us get a turn at Will!" I heard my mom's voice and I reluctantly let go. Will hugged both of our parents and I felt a burst of happiness towards them all.

"I didn't think you guys would be this happy to see your trouble maker of a son!" He said as he swung his bags onto his shoulders and we started making our way through the crowds.

"We haven't seen you since Christmas! Of course we're ecstatic to see you." My mom said and squeezed his arm lightly.

"Speak for yourselves! I haven't seen dear Will for a year and I didn't miss him one bit!" I smiled at Will and he laughed and tousled my hair. I grimaced and fixed it.

"Oh please Al! You know you missed me, and you would've seen me for Christmas if you hadn't been at Georgie's for the holiday..which I think was very wrong by the way, considering that your dear brother is all the way in Italy for college, but does he get any attention? No.. I think not…Okay what did I say wrong, because Alicia's got that look like she's about to throttle something..and that _never_ turns out well.." He looked suspiciously at me.

"Well me and Georgie, as you so endearingly call him, are no longer dating, but I'm sure you like that, you never did like him much." I crossed my arms and scowled at Will. He smiled brightly.

"Of course I didn't like him! He had that air about him.. I always felt like he was going to fight me or curse me..whatever you wiz kids do. " That made me laugh out loud.

"Will! That's _one_ thing that George wouldn't do, is fight or curse my twenty year old brother!" I kept laughing and I noticed that my mom and my dad had fallen behind and were now in conversation with each other.

"Oh please! He was a confrontational little bloke, I could tell. And anyway, I like him fine now that you aren't dating him." He put an arm around my shoulder and squeezed.

"I'm glad you're home Will. Angelina has been asking about you, you know." I said, winking at him and then laughing when he blushed.

"I knew she couldn't get enough of me! It's this dazzling smile, see?" He smiled brightly, showing his straight white teeth.

"That dazzling smile cost us loads of money." My dad said, interjecting his loud voice into our conversation.

"..not to mention the cost of those _horrible_ school photos of Will in grammar school.." I said, making him smile sarcastically at me.

"At least I didn't have an Afro for fifteen years." He retorted. I yelped and hit him.

"That was low.." I said, chuckling a bit.

We reached the car and through Will's stuff in the trunk. Piling in the car, I realized as I watched my family interact that this was the first time in two months that George wasn't in the front of my mind, and I loved it.

* * *

Later that night after Will had unpacked and I had finished cleaning my room, against my free will, Will and I sat down in the living room before dinner.

For the first time that day, I realized how much Will had changed. My once nerdy brother was no longer nerdy, and very much handsome.

His glasses that had been perched on his nose for a good nineteen years were now missing, only making his impossibly light blue eyes stand out even more. He still stood at six foot one, but now filled out his lanky figure. A rugged tan covered him, and his dirty blonde hair fell just below his ears.

What had happened to the scrawny genius that I had grown up with? In his place was a very attractive genius, and I can't say that I liked it. Wait until my two best girl friends got a look at him, they would go crazy..and that's never good. Especially when one of them, Angelina, already had a crush on him for what seemed like forever.

"Will, why are you so _tan_?" I asked, and was shocked at how accusatory my tone was.

"I didn't know it was a crime to be tan Alicia Spinnet. I'm sorry if I've inconvenienced you in someway." He laughed at himself and I smirked.

"I had a job on a vineyard helping an old couple keep it going while I was at school." He explained.

I nodded curtly and then asked something else. "Where are your glasses? What's happened to them?" It was in the same accusatory tone and he raised an eyebrow.

"Well Your Honor, they snapped one day in the fields and Rob, who I work for, suggested contacts because glasses don't last long with manual labor. So I took his advice, and _voila_!" I didn't smile and opened my mouth to ask him another question.

"What.." I began, only to be interrupted by my dad.

"Sorry to interrupt this interrogation, but dinner is ready." Will raised his eyebrow at me again and I crossed my arms as we walked to the dinner table.

"What's your deal Al?" He asked.

"I don't like you being handsome. It irks me." He stopped in his tracks and I kept walking and took my seat. He sat down a few minutes later, looked at me, and chuckled under his breath.

We small talked while we ate for awhile before my dad groaned.

"I have to go to work tomorrow.." He dreaded work. He worked at the Ministry and he said that things were getting shadier and shadier everyday.

"Well can't you do some sort of spell so you don't have to go?" Will asked, his mouth full of potatoes.

"You know I can't.. I swear Will, you'd think you'd know something about magic considering you've been around it for twenty years." My dad laughed and Will smiled sheepishly.

"Oh William, you have to be patient with Will and I, you know even I don't grasp everything and I've been married to you for twenty-two years." My mom said, patting my dad's arm.

"Oh please mom, you hardly ever cook your meals normally now..you use those ready made recipes from the magical cook book. Just because you aren't a witch doesn't mean you can't use magic, and you know it!" I laughed as my mom also smiled sheepishly.

"I, for one, pride myself in being the only normal one in this family!" Will said, holding his fork in the air.

"Just because you don't use magic doesn't mean you're normal..you're the most abnormal thing I've ever met..and you should see the attendance at Hogwarts!" I retorted. He flung a pea at me and I ducked.

"Okay you two, that's enough!" My dad said, beginning to laugh, but catching the look on my mom's face, stopped.

Will and I kept laughing, but then a loud thump from above caused everyone to quiet down.

"Oh I bet it's nothing.." Mom said, smiling too widely.

"Yeah, nothing." I said, even though something didn't feel right. I felt for my wand and realized I didn't have it. I was just being paranoid though, right?

Another thump, louder this time, occurred. My brother stood up with my dad and my dad motioned for Will to stay put. Will ignored this and followed my dad as he went upstairs.

I looked at my mom and she tried to smile reassuringly at me.

"I'm just going to go get my wand mom, it's in the living-.." I heard a yell and then something that sounded like it was being thrown down the stairs.

"_Stay there_!" I yelled to my mom and then ran to the living room to grab my wand.

I muttered a spell, and watched as a silver lion emerged from the end of my wand.

"Go to the burrow and tell the order members that my family and I are being attacked and we need immediate assistance!" The lion bounded off and I raced back into the dinning room, only to find my mother's chair empty.

I sprinted upstairs, but then was stopped as I saw my brother's body in the stairwell. I felt for a pulse, found one, and then sprinted past him.

My father was dueling with a large wizard. My dad dodged the killing curse and I joined into the fray.

"_Expelliarmus_!" I shouted and watched the wand fly out of the unsuspecting death eater's hand. He then noticed I was in the room, and smiled.

Fear filled me, but I stayed calm. My dad backed towards me, and came to stand in front of me.

"_Stupefy!"_ I screamed, sending a jet of light towards the man. He dodged it and dived towards something. He grabbed his wand and stood up. I saw he had my mother pulled to his chest, a wand pointed at her heart.

"Oh I will, don't doubt it for a second." He snarled in his deep voice. A tear slid down my mom's face as she stared at both of us.

"William, don't you see what you've done? Screwing around at the ministry has caused this to happen..you'll watch your entire family die tonight all because of your supposed bravery towards the Dark Lord..This is what you get.."

_"Crucio!"_ He screamed as I made a break for my mom, but stopped as I felt the most excruciating pain I've ever felt. The pain filled every limb, pulling me apart, making me scream. I couldn't rise, the pain kept coming and I felt tied to the ground. My dad tried to make a move for me and my mom screamed.

"This is all your fault William, if you had just done what you were told to do **Avada Kedavra!" **Through my pain I watched my mother fall limp to the ground and my father scream in anger and sadness.

"YOU BASTARD!" He roared and raised his wand. The killing curse was on his lips and then like lightening, the death eater shouted _"Expelliarmus!"_ and my dad's wand flew down the steps.

The death eater came towards me and my dad leaped in front of him. "You will NOT touch my daughter!" The death eater pushed him out of the way but my dad wouldn't budge.

"William, I didn't want to kill you yet. I wanted you to suffer and watch as your family suffers. But if you don't move, then I'm afraid I can't play with you, and I'll have to kill you next." He noticed that I was beginning to recover and get up. He shouted_ "Crucio!"_ once more and the pain returned.

"NO! TAKE ME! STOP HURTING HER!" My dad screamed, his eyes filling with fury.

I heard loud pops downstairs and angry familiar voices. The death eater heard them too and then sighed.

"Looks like I'll have to go ahead and kill you, The Dark Lord would punish me if I didn't." And before my dad had anytime to react, he shouted the killing spell and I watched as my dad fell to the floor, his eyes almost apologetic towards me.

People stormed up the stairs and popped in from all around. The death eater grinned and looking straight into my eyes said, _"Crucio,"_ before disapparating. The pain filled me worse this time. Maybe it was the combination of the death of both of my parents and the fury and the spell, but the pain was too much to take.

I heard someone screaming my name and then I saw nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

_Paper Walls_

* * *

_I was running through a maze.. black walls on every side of me..growing taller by the minute..a man's laugh cackled, "Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!" _

I woke up with a start. I opened my eyes and saw that I was in a bright blue room with posters hanging on every wall. It was rather small, with a desk, a bed, and a large rug. I was on a fluffy bed covered in pillows. I felt a sharp pain go through the back of my neck and I grimaced and reached back there to rub it.

The memories of the past night came flooding back. My mom..dead..my dad..dead..Will, where was Will? Was he alright? My family..torn apart.. Tears started to leak out of my eyes but I brushed them furiously away. I would not break down when there were things that needed to be done.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and noticed that I was wearing a pair of shorts with cartoon brooms flying around on them. I was wearing a very familiar Chudley Cannon's t-shirt, and at once I knew where I was. I was at the Burrow, which meant that the entire Weasley clan was around here somewhere. That meant that I didn't imagine those voices, people did come for me..I wasn't forgotten..

"Alicia, you're awake..Should I get mum and dad?" I looked up and saw Ginny at the door, her eyes full of pity. I smiled slightly.

"No, no, it's fine Gin. Come over here..sit with me for a minute." I patted the empty spot beside me and Ginny smiled back, hesitantly, and then walked over.

"Gin you've grown up so much and its only been what, three months? God.." This made her loosen up a bit and I smiled again.

"It's okay Ginny, you don't have to walk on eggshells around me. We've always been friends and I'd like for us to stay that way, no matter what I've been through." She nodded.

"I'm so glad you're alright! We were so worried when you're lion came and delivered the message. I wanted to go help, but –" She stopped and her eyes got wide. "I'm so sorry Alicia! I didn't mean to bring it up..I'm so stupid.."

I felt bad for Ginny who thought that she had upset me. "No Ginny, its fine, go on, I'd like to know everything." I knew that Ginny would probably be the only one that would be willing to tell me everything. I had experienced the Weasley's trying to protect someone, meaning they didn't tell them anything for fear of hurting them. Poor Harry Potter had been through it many times.

"Okay, well the lion came while we were eating dinner." She said before I interrupted.

"Who's we?"

"Well luckily enough it was a dinner directly after a meeting of the Order, so Hagrid, Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Bill, Fleur, Mum, Dad, and Mad-eye. Anyway, your lion came, told us that you were under attack and then everyone started yelling. Kingsley told the Order to go and when Hermione, Ron, and I tried to come, they told us to stay behind. George was yelling, causing quite a scene, and they almost made him stay. They all disapparated and then a couple of hours later they returned. Kingsley and Lupin were supporting your brother and George was carrying you.. you were so still that I was sure you were-" She stopped hastily.

"They said that the death eater used the Cruciatus curse on you three times and that you were lucky to be as healthy as you were. You slept on and off for three days and then you woke up, today."

It had been three days? It seemed like it was still Saturday, and we had just gotten back from the train station with Will..

"Is Will okay? Is he alright?" I asked, panic filling me. I couldn't lose Will, I couldn't.

Ginny patted my hand and smiled tightly. "He's fine. He's been helping Bill with yard work and Mum with house work for the past few days. He was horribly shaken up the first couple of days, wouldn't leave your side, almost got in a fight with George the second day..but he seems to have come to grips and he's much better.."

I looked away and out a large window. There he was, helping a large red haired man, Bill, de-gnome a garden. I saw him laugh as a gnome grabbed onto the toe of Bill's boot and Bill tried frantically to shake him off.

"Leash? I just wanted to say..well I wanted to say that I'm glad you're okay. I'm so glad." I looked up at the shaking voice of the girl that had been like a younger sister to me for the past seven years.

I pulled her into my embrace and stroked her hair. "I'm okay Gin, and I'll stay okay."

We stayed like that for a few minutes and then Ginny spoke.

"If you want to get cleaned up and such, I have my own bathroom. It's an advantage to being the only girl." She pointed to the small door on the side of the room and I nodded and smiled.

"You can borrow some clothes of mine until we get you some of yours. Help yourself." She said, and I could tell that she was relieved that she could finally help me. I began to think how peculiar it was that I had never been into Ginny's room, but then reminded myself that I had always been in George and Fred's, and stayed in the only guest room downstairs when I slept over.

"Thanks Gin, for all your help." I said to Ginny's retreating back. She turned around and smiled, and said, "Your welcome Leash, I'll tell the others that you're awake."

I nodded and then got up. It hurt so bad to begin moving, but I kept going and the pain subsided. I entered the bathroom and laughed at the state of it; clothes all over the floor and ointments and make up all over the counter.

"At least something feels familiar." I said to myself before I stripped my clothes off and started to get in the shower. Before I got in though, I noticed something in the mirror.

My body had bruised, with large splotches across my middle and down to mid-thigh. I turned around and gathered my hair to the top of my head. On the back of my neck was a huge bruise, already purple. Quickly letting down my hair, I stifled a sob and got into the shower.

After I was out, Iran a comb through my hair and watched it spring back up every time I tried to flatten it. I searched through Ginny's drawers and came up with a yellow t-shirt with the band name, "French Furs," written across in blue lettering. I laughed as I thought about the hairy singers in the band and began looking for bottoms. I found the pair of jeans that I had worn that day, clean and folded on the bed and I slipped them on.

Magically drying my hair, I pulled my curls into a low pony-tail and didn't care when a few of the curls sprung out of the elastic. Looking in the mirror I noticed the sad sight of my face. The dark circles looked impossibly dark and I had a cut above my eyebrow.

I put on some make up and was satisfied when I looked a little bit more alive. I don't know why I cared so much about this, but when I cared, I realized that I was thinking about my hair and face, not my parents.

I walked out of the room and noticed that no one was upstairs. I heard voices from downstairs and I began to descend them. I came to the bottom of the stairwell and through the door I heard my name being said.

"You talked to Alicia? How did she sound? Was she okay? Was she crying? Maybe I should go up there..she might need me.."

"No George, she's taking a shower and then she'll be down. Besides you agreed to stay out of the room ever since you and Will almost had a go." Ginny's voice, I could tell.

"That's the last thing she needs to see, her ex-boyfriend fighting her big brother." Fred's voice, I could tell his and George's apart in a second.

I heard a door open and shut and large footsteps.

"Mum you shoulda seen Will's de-gnoming skills! He's bloody amazing.." I heard laughing and then my brother's voice.

"If you call me punting one away, amazing, then I don't know what you would call Bill's throwing.."

"Oh shut up mate, he's just being modest.."

"Alicia's up." George's voice was very business like. I heard a chair scoot back hurriedly.

"She's up? Is she okay? Is she still in bed? Should I go up?" My brother asked, his deep voice talking fast. I felt a tear coming down, I wiped it away.

"She's coming down after her shower." Ginny's voice again.

There was silence and I heard the sound of a frying pan.

Well it was now or never, right? I opened the door and stepped down the last step.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

_Chapter Three_

_A/n- sorry this took so incredibly long..but I already have two other chapters written out, so there wont be delays anymore. But please review.._

You know that feeling you get when you walk into a church service after it's already started? You feel the preacher pause and look at you, prompting everyone else to pause, and look at you. You want more than anything to become invisible and sit down on the back row where no one can continue to stare, but even when you sit down..the staring continues..

Well that's the feeling I got when I walked into the Weasley's kitchen that morning. I had walked into that kitchen so many times in my life, with my hair tousled after a long night's sleep or maybe just from fooling around with George.. but never had I commanded this kind of attention from an entire room.

For a few seconds, which felt like hours, nobody said anything and the only sound that filled the room was the sizzling bacon and continuous ticking of Mrs. Weasley's famous clock.

The first to speak was Ginny.

"Hey Leash that's your shirt by the way, I don't know if you remember but you left it over here a few years ago and I never gave it back."

How relieved I was! How refreshing it was to have the first words someone spoke to me not be about my parents.. If Ginny only knew what those words meant to me, those simple words.

I looked down at the apparently familiar shirt and smiled.

I looked back up from examining my shirt and my eyes took in the kitchen, from Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred and Ginny sitting at the table, to George leaning against the counter with this look in his eyes..to Mrs. Weasley smiling only the way a mother can smile at the stove, and to Bill and my brother standing by the door, covered in dirt.

Immediately I was engulfed in a hug, and within a second I smelt my brother's familiar scent and I buried my face in his neck. It felt like such a private thing for an entire room to experience. We pulled apart , but still stood close together. He turned so his back wasn't facing the room.

"Alicia, Will… I want you to know how extremely happy we are that you two are safe."

_"…but my parents aren't…"_ I wanted to finish.

"So are we, Mrs. Weasley. Thank you again for the hospitality this family has shown to me and my sister in these past few days." Will said in a controlled manner.

"Of course Will, and I don't know how many times I have to tell you to call me Molly. You are just as stubborn as your sister!" I smiled at that, and Mrs. Weasley seemed relieved to lighten the mood.

"Well I don't know about you Will, but I know for a fact that blueberry pancakes are Alicia's weakness…and it's quite a coincidence that I have a huge batch almost ready.." Molly turned back to the stove to turn another pancake over.

"Well Molly you're in luck because I absolutely adore blueberry pancakes.. and I may not be able to consume as many as my sis here, but I'll be able to make quite a dent." George entered the room, (when had he left?) with two chairs and everyone scooted to make room at the table.

"You're right about that Will… I don't know how many times I've had to be a good friend and give my pancakes to Alicia.. she's a pancake monster." Fred said, elbowing me.

"Definitely a force to be reckoned with.." A voice said, entering the kitchen. I turned around and saw Lee Jordan. He came over and ruffled my hair. "Hullo kiddo."

"Hey Lee" I said, genuinely smiling at the sight of my best friend. He pulled up another chair and fit in between Hermione and Ron.

"Sorry Ronikins! I have to get next to your pretty lady because she has the closest access to the pancake platter…" Ron couldn't speak due to the extreme size of his cheeks, filled with pancakes, but he managed to blush. Hermione rolled her eyes and blushed too.

"Sorry Lee, but I.." Fred grabbed the platter, "..was next in line!" That caused a dispute across the table. This relieved me yet again now that the attention was elsewhere. This was exactly what I needed.

The past three days of not eating caught up to me and kicked me in the stomach. I grabbed three pancakes and put them on my plate.

"Common Leash, that's weak..you can do better than that.." Lee said, pushing the plate towards me. I smiled and took another one.

"Well team, it looks like Alicia is giving up her status of Pancake Monster to her brother! What a day this is indeed, I never thought I would have to de-throne Alicia Spinnet of her title!" Fred commented, shaking his head. Everyone pretended to look disappointed.

I looked over at Will's plate and saw the stack of five and narrowed my eyes at him. He raised his eyebrows and reached for another one. I intercepted and grabbed the last two.

"No one, and I mean_ no one_, de-throne's my Pancake Monster title." I said. The shock of me talking, let alone joking, caused the whole room to cease moving. And then at once, everyone started to laugh. I looked over at my brother who was laughing heartedly, and over at Lee who was attempting to not spit milk from his nose, and I felt my heart raise the first time since everything happened.

I looked over at George who still stood, and in his eyes, in his face, there was so many words and thoughts and feelings radiating from his posture, his body language.. I held his gaze for a few minutes and then looked away.

After that, everyone was in much lighter spirits, no longer tip-toeing around me and Will. They made jokes and talked about their days, all except George. I looked back over to see that he was gone, but then again, what was new with that?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The days went by fast after the first one. We all became in sync. I was surprised to see that nobody but George treated me differently. Everyone treated me like the same Alicia and they all welcomed Will into their circle. Nobody ever mentioned my parents, but they didn't treat me like glass, and I was grateful for that.

Will became valuable in the yard work which was plentiful considering that Bill and Fleur's wedding was just around the corner. Will was excited to learn that there was an abandoned orchard close, and he didn't hesitate in diving in on that, claiming that there would be no better place for a reception then a fully blooming orchard. He was especially excited in knowing that the flora could be helped in growing so it wouldn't take years, just days. Maybe it was a way of keeping his mind off things, but he enjoyed it and that's all I cared about.

As for myself I spent my days helping Molly with things at my firm insistence. She understood that it was therapeutic for me and after some prompting, began giving me tasks.

Two weeks later after a huge dinner of pot-roast and green beans, I excused myself to go outside. They table hardly blinked. They were used to me taking an hour or so to myself in the evening, and they respected it.

I escaped outside and began walking down a path towards the orchard. The sun setting over the vast acres of land was beautiful and never ceased to take my breath away.

I'd overheard them talking about how well I was taking this numerous times. Was I really taking this well? I was taking it the only way I knew how. My brother confessed that he thought I was in denial. I told him that I didn't consider it denial, it was acceptance.

In all truth, I was worried that if I cried I would never stop. What good would I be to anyone- the resistance, the order, the household, my parents- if I cracked? None whatsoever, which is how I was able to wake up everyday and continue.

I sat down on a bench that Will had put there when he learned how I liked to come down here. His discarded tools were sprawled throughout the grounds like a battlefield of garden equipment.

"Thought you'd be here, you were always one for a sunset." Someone said.. could it be? She was supposed to be somewhere on a secret mission for the order.. was I having delusions? Wouldn't be the first time in the past few weeks..

"Turn around Leash, it's okay..it's me." I stood up, turned around and saw Angelina standing there in her all too familiar jeans and Appleby Arrow's t-shirt, hair a long mess of curls…looking exactly like my beautiful best friend I hadn't seen in months.

"Angie.." I ran into her arms, burying my face into her copious dark curls and she hugged me tight.

"Oh Leash, I just got back and they told me… Alicia I'm so sorry I wasn't here.. I'm sorry that you couldn't reach me, that nobody could reach me… I should've been here.." I heard her words break up and start to squeak- sure signs of her rare tears.

I pulled back, and stared up at her, and grabbed hold of her hands.

"Angie, you know that nothing would have been different if you had been here… and they don't call them top secret missions for nothing, you were completely unreachable. There's nothing you or Katie could have done…you were both somewhere that was impossible to be reached. It's not your fault, it could've easily been me.."

She looked at me and a tear splashed on my hand, still holding hers.

"You could've been with me and Katie, but you chose to be here with your family. I could've made the same decision and stayed with you."

I pulled her close. I knew what was going on in my best friend, the guilt she felt. For as long as we had been friends, these seven years, she had felt every thing I had felt. If I was in pain, she was in pain. She had been there for me every step of the way, and when the most devastating thing had happened to me, she wasn't here and it was killing her with guilt.

"Everything happened and there's nothing we can do Ang, you know that. We can't look back like that.." Who was I to be preaching to her like this? God only knows how many times I had done the "What if" game.

"I know Leash, I know." We sat there for awhile before I realized someone was missing.

"Where's Katie? She came back with you right?" I started to get panicky, what if something went wrong and I had lost Katie too?

Angelina sensed the fear and calmed them immediately. "We just got back, like within the hour, and she went to see Lee at his apartment and I came to see Fred. I'm guessing she's just now figuring out Lee's not there." She wiped her face.

"Yeah he's been staying here since the attack."

"Alicia I can't tell you how scared I was when I walked into the burrow. I apparated into the kitchen and everyone was there, like normal, and then I saw Will… and i assumed you were here too, so I asked where you were, and everyone got so silent….Will stood up and said that there was something I needed to know and he started on about the attack, and for a few minutes, a few horrifying minutes, I believed I lost my best friend. Will finally got around to telling me you were fine, you were just on a walk…and I ran out."

"I'm fine, Ang..and so much better now that you're-"

**"ALICIA! ALICIA!! ALICIA SPINNET!"** A hysteric voice began screaming my name. Within seconds I spotted Katie, the definition of hysterical, sprinting towards me. She didn't slow down and almost tackled me to the ground.

"Alicia..oh my God Alicia.. damnit Alicia..oh my God… _shit damn_…" She said holding on to me for dear life.

"I thought…when they told me.. we weren't here…you went through that…without me and Ang.. should've been here..i thought..i really thought…" She was still hysterical, and I patted her back, and held her.

"I'm okay Leash, really, I promise. Like I was telling Ang, there's nothing that could've been done."

Katie stuck out a hand and grabbed Ang's shirt, jerking her into the huddle. We all stood there for a few minutes, completely quiet.

"No more of this. I need you guys to be sharp if you're going to help me.." I said gently. We pulled apart and sat down in a circle, something we'd done for as long as we'd been friends.

"I was worried about this.." Angelina said, her practicality coming out.

"I'm getting those bastards that got my parents… and I need to talk strategy with you if I plan on getting anywhere." Ang and Katie exchanged confused looks.

"Why are you saying I? That's definitely not plural… and it should be considering three is definitely plural…" Katie said, folding her legs underneath her.

"You guys can't…it's too dangerous.." I said, realizing that this would probably be an argument that got me no where.

"Where you go, we go. That's how it's always been…whether its hogsmeade or summer vacations…or a mission to bring down the bastards that killed your parents… where you go, we go." Katie said, determination in her shocking green eyes.

"Guys.." I started.

"Where you go, we go Leash. We're not letting you do this alone again." Angelina said.

I sighed. "I give in, you two are a wall when you work together."

They smiled, " And when all three of us are together, we're like a damn house!" Katie said. Angelina and I looked at each other and started laughing.

She scowled at us and said, "You know, like an unbreakable house! Cement on the outside and BRICK on the inside!"

I started to laugh harder when Katie continued to scowl and mumble. Angelina was clutching her stomach she was laughing so hard, and reluctantly Katie started chuckling, eventually ending up laughing as hard as we were.

We laid back and calmed down.

"We can't plan things here.. My parent's have a home on the coast, we should go there." Angelina said.

"Is it secluded?" Katie asked.

"You know my parents.. As reclusive as they are, it's extremely secluded."

"That sounds like what we should do then, as soon as we can." I said.

"Tomorrow morning?" Katie half asked, half confirmed.

"Yeah, I think we should. The sooner we leave the better…but what are we going to tell the others? If they found out, they would want to come or try to stop us." Ang said.

"Yeah, and I can't have that.. I'd feel so responsible if something happened to them because of me.. We'll leave them a note saying you two took me on a vacation to take my mind off things."

"Yeah, that'll work. You know we have to be back by Fleur and Bill's wedding though.. it would raise suspicions if we couldn't take time off our vacation to come back.." Angelina said.

"That's okay. We have a timeframe now but that doesn't mean anything. It's May 12th now, when is the wedding again?" I asked, trying to work it out in my head.

"They get married on August 14th. So we have almost three months.. That work for you Leash?"

"Yeah. That works."

We lay beside each other for a while, not saying a word.


End file.
